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Dead Island 2 Eyes-On Preview [E3 2014]

Dead Island 2 is coming, and I’m honestly giddy about it. People can say all they want about the first two games’ shortcomings, but I had a hard time putting my controller down while playing them. That’s why this official sequel’s official announcement helped make E3 for me.

Earlier today, I visited Deep Silver at its comfortable meeting room in the Los Angeles Convention Center and strapped in for an expectedly gory gameplay preview at the hands of two Yager Development team members. Although it wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for and expected (the demo was from an “early 2013 build” if I heard correctly), I still came away from it with a huge grin on my face.

It all started with what was introduced as an extended version of the game’s E3 trailer. However, it seemed like the exact same thing that they showed during Sony’s presser, so it was something that I’d already seen. That wasn’t a downside, though, because Deep Silver knows how to create great trailers. This one in particular — which follows an oblivious meathead on his daily jog along a Californian boardwalk, as zombies create outrageous carnage in the background — is one I’ll be remembering for years, because it’s just so, so badass.

Following that visceral, CGI-crafted show, the controller-based action began. And, despite Deep Silver’s emphasis on how old the build was, I thought that it looked quite good, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise. That said, when they showed a video that was taken (in-engine) from their current build, I noticed quite a difference and wished I’d seen even a couple of minutes of action from that version. Granted, they did say that playable demos are in the works for other conventions, like PAX.